Drinking Japan: A book after my own heart

I bet you didn't know that Sartre -- the original misanthrope, of No Exit and The Stranger fame -- was an early proponent of Japanese whisky. Yes, Sartre added Japanese whisky to his diet of hard liquor, cigarettes, and amphetamines on his trip here with Simone de Beauvoir in the 60s, and he was known to knock back liters of the stuff.

Actually, the spirit's roots in Japan can be traced back to 1854, when Commodore Perry brought over 100 gallons of American whiskey on the infamous "Black Ships" to Tokyo. The Japanese may not have relished the infiltration of Western culture and influence, but they welcomed whiskey with open arms; an article in the New York Observer from that year describing a party with US officers and samurai mentions that the "toddy flowed." It was scene of tipsy merriment, not unlike Shimbashi on a Friday night, with lots of hugging and, presumably, red faces.

These and other fun bits of trivia are sprinkled throughout Chris Bunting's new book Drinking Japan: A Guide to Japan's Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments.

The book gives delightful, in-depth overviews of six of the most beloved drinks in Japan: sake, shochu, awamori, beer, whisky, and wine. As the name suggests, dozens of recommended bars and pubs are listed in each category. Bunting also throws in a section on other great bars in the country, from the esteemed cocktail bar Tender in Ginza, where you can find the perfect gimlet, to the quirky Bozu bar, where both Bloody Marys and Zen koans are served by Buddhist monks, in Nakano.

I first came to know Chris through his excellent blog, Nonjatta, which is the most informative site about Japanese whisky on the web. He was the first person to turn me on to Ichiro's Malt, the delectable distillations of artisanal producer Ichiro Akuto in Chichibu, about an hour outside of Tokyo, and I've been a great fan ever since. Needless to say, the chapter on whisky belies his enthusiasm for the drink. I've visited a handful of the whisky bars he reviews in Drinking Japan (as well as several of the sake bars in Chapter 1 -- surprise, surprise) and am keen to try the others. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up with Chris for a dram at one of these places. Perhaps at Cask in Roppongi, where I might give him a heart attack by ordering "one of those Yamazakis."

Everyone has a vice (I personally have five: sake, wine, whiskey, fried food, and foie gras -- not necessarily in that order). If yours can be imbibed, you should definitely check out this book. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Japan Earthquake Relief, so it's a win-win situation.